Hysteria1983

Hi all, few weeks (maybe a month or 2) back there was a thread about tanks, and at that point I still had the Bi-Orb.

Since then we have set up and cycled the new 300L tank and moved the fish over. They are loving the new environment, and like the real plants that are in there so much better than the fake they used to have.
We have also added a nice chunk of bog wood, and made our own little cave out of some granite so to add out own touch to the tank.

Anyway, as most 'fish people' know, with real plants comes real snails.
Now, as much as the children love looking for them all, I was wondering what peoples thought on them were?

I have read into it, and not many people seem to allow them to sty in there because they can cause the ammonia levels to rise a little (not good I know). Other people have had no problems and let them stay put.

Just wondering what anyone though on the matter?

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I had a tank a long time ago and i remember my snail problem. It was ok at first as they were tiny, almost cute but they soon grew and ate everything and produced so much waste it was not very nice for very long. It would be better to get rid of them now while they are tiny. I also remember finding lots of gel like patches on the glass with pinkish dots in them. These turned out to be new snails that were hatching.

Not a good thing to have in your tank. If the kids like them, get rid of them bit by bit so they dont notice

Clarebabes

I had a snail infestation a year or so ago and the only way I got rid of them was to scrub the leaves of all the plants with a scourer - obviously quite lightly without detergent - and boiled the bogwood and rocks. Took a couple of times, but they went away.

I also have some clown loaches, they are supposed to be partial to them, but they didn't do anything in mine

Hysteria1983

Thanks Sara, I did think that getting rid now might be a better option, especially as the children are aware they are there. they re quite small at the moment. I have tried to lure them out with some lettuce, but I have this bubble pipe that creates quite a current in the tank, so i assume they couldn't get on to the leaf.

Someone had suggested boiling the bog wood, or even putting it in the dishwasher without any detergent. But I am not sure on that idea.

Clare, we are hoping to get some loaches in there, but I moved the ceramic media out of the bi-orb while I was cycling the tank to help with the levels. So until I have taken all the media out I can't have the loaches, They tend to scurry about a bit, and the media can scar an scratch them a lot. I think that if you crush the shells the loaches will eat them. I would just feel a bit cruel doing it.

Clarebabes

Yeah, I did squash a few against the glass! They're a pain, makes the tank look messy I reckon.

I had a biorb before I got my big tank and was told to get a loach for the snails then. What stupid advice! I had to get the big tank to save him from certain death. He's lovely though and grown loads

Hysteria1983

Ah right, so was he in there with the media?

I think I might just have to get rid of the snails. I am not sure if the zebras would eat them if I squashed them? They are pretty big to be honest, and they have one heck of an appetite!

wimpy

iTrader: (2)

I have 3 clown loaches in my 400l tank and no longer have any snails and no crushing took place.

Jonnys3

About 3 years ago our youngest daughter managed to empty a full pot of dried tropical aquarium flake food into the tank. This made a real mess of the tank and left the water very murky for a good week or so. We thought it was game over so just left the tank as was and figured we'd deal with the aftermath later and basically accepted we'd have to start over again. Surprisingly all fish survived (a fairly well stocked 60 litre tank at that) but when the water cleared and had been filtered via the in-tank filter we noticed there were hundreds of little snails forming all over the glass and on the gravel. Within 2 weeks our plecs and clown loaches had eaten these and basically cleaned the tank glass and gravel for us. Plecs are great for cleaning tanks naturally.

Hysteria1983

Thanks Jonny... will have to keep them in mind. At the moment there are only 9 fish in the tank. It's 300L, so plenty room for more, but I don't want to put anymore in too soon s the last few only went in 2 weeks ago.

Leslie

Don't the snails keep the sides of the aquarium clean by eating the algae though?

Les

Hysteria1983

Apparently so, but the amount of poop they produce creates dangerous levels of ammonia. So it's a bit of a catch 22.

mart360

Get a nice plec, destroys snails


Or you can get a liquid i believe which you nuke the snails with


or get a nice apple snail


mart

Hysteria1983

The geezer at the Holly Bush mentioned getting an apple snail. Are they a bit more laid back that brown snails?

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

I bought my clown on the same advice .. he actually died tonight had him a good two years dont think he ate a single snail in his life ..

Clarebabes

Sorry to hear that Pimmo, RIP little loach

lord love rocket

Snails wont do the tank that much harm ammonia wise so long as the filter is big enough to cope with the amount of fish you have in the tank. over filtration is always better than under (as i am sure you are aware). Snails are a marmite thing, either love em or hate em. I have red cherry shrimp in my planted aquarium, and the odd snail. But i think the shrimp keep on top of the snails. I often come across lots of old snail shells when doing water changes.
Easiest way to get rid of snails is a copper based treatment from your local aquatic store. Make sure you havent got anything else snail/shrimp like in the tank before treatment though, as the treatment will kill the shrimp too. some plants dont handle the copper either. good luck.

Hysteria1983

Thanks for that.

Problem is I keep getting conflicting advice.

At the moment all the levels are great, so I might leave them too it.

Pimmo, sorry to hear about the loach.

lord love rocket

Try thinking of it like this, if you were looking into a stream/lake from say.. the amazonian area, would you look in there and say.. eeeeew snails....or look and say.. look at them beautiful fish.? People look at fish tanks like the fish are the hobby... the fact is, that water chemistry is the hobby, the happy, healthy fish etc are the reward.
The snails will not be doing any harm so long as the water quality is good. Are you using water out of the tap? or are you using ro water?

Quasi Modo

Sorry about that, what's a Loach actually look like? I don't know much about fish really, most people seem to have jap carp (big goldfish).

lord love rocket

Here is my tank from a little while ago...

YouTube - discus planted aquarium

Hysteria1983

I am using conditioned tap water. What is ro water?

As for it being a hobby, yes, I enjoy it, as a stay at home mum, it gives me something to do. Given that the other half does most of the work, I always like to keep on top of the water changes and general maintenance. It's a daily thing that we do (as it has to be) and it's actually nice to have something productive to do.
Not tht looking after the kids isn't, but its in a totally different league.

Quasi Modo

Nice tank mate, (i could live it myself) Are the little one Tetras? Are the blue and orange ones just male and female? What species are they?

Clarebabes

This is like mine:

lord love rocket

Ro = Reverse Osmosis. Its simply a filtration system on your tap water, that removes pretty much every harmful chemical(chlorine etc etc) in your tap water so you only get the basic h2o. the water is so pure, you need to add the correct amount of mineral salts back to the water to make it fish friendly. (only adding the correct amount for the conditons the specific fish you are keeping like.) Its a fine art, with lots of water tests, but the results are amazing. fish live longer, appear happier, breed more easily etc etc. there is alot of information about it on the internet. if you havent got an ro filter, you could enquire at your local aquatic shop if they could supply you with the water ( i use to do this but now have my own filter). like most hobbies, you can carry on very succsesfully as you are doing now, or you can delve deeper and get alot more out of it.

lord love rocket

Quasi, yes, the little ones are cardinal tetras, very similar to neon tetras, but more colourful and top quality. the larger fish (round shape) are called discus. they are all tropical freshwater. Love me discus fish.. but they could well soon be looking for a new home ... divorce beckons

Quasi Modo

Like a tiger in red shoes, pretty.

Quasi Modo

Oh Pants! Sorry mate, not what you really want after 2009 is it.

lord love rocket

Truth be known its done and dusted... now got my own place again etc etc.. just trying to get some money together now for my dream car... a scoob, she'll be more reliable than any women i reckon.!!

Quasi Modo

be very careful what you say on here mate, ya never know who might be listening.

g7prs

iTrader: (5)

When i had my tank i got an infestation of conical snails, i already had a clown loach and bought a couple more. I did once see one with a snail in its mouth but they didnt eat as many as i would have liked. My snails seemed to come out at night time when my living room was dark, i would pick out 20 or so a night. I eventually gave up and and moved the fish into another tank and then gutted my main tank and started again.

I am sure i read that the liquids that you get for killing off the snails can be harmful to certain types of fish so becareful.